Drink the water, then eat the bottle

London-based start-up Skipping Rocks Lab has developed Ooho!, a new kind of packaging made from seaweed and calcium chlorine-based membrane that proposes an alternative to plastic bottles.

The company founders say their spherical water container is easy and cheap to make, strong, hygienic, biodegradable and edible.

During the manufacturing process, spheres of ice are treated with the membrane. Once the ice melts, consumers are left with the solidified membrane full of water. They simply pierce the membrane to drink the water.

The project was driven by the need to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources for single-use bottles and the unsustainable amount of waste they generate. Ooho’s inventors aim to provide the convenience of plastic bottles while limiting the environmental impact.

In 2014, Skipping Rocks Lab was awarded a World Technology Award (environment).